


Recall

by Bakuras



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa Zero
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 15:25:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5876104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bakuras/pseuds/Bakuras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"What do you remember about the tragedy?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A short writing sample from Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recall

Aha.  The _tragedy_. 

He still isn’t used to people speaking of it in _past tense,_ much less with as much _disconnect_ as they seemed to have.  Disconnect from the _massacre_ , disconnect from the bodies piling up outside of storefronts, outside of homes.  They spoke of it in the same way they might speak about an old world war.  A dark time, yes, and tragic, but far enough removed that any wounds it inflicted have been replaced with scar tissue.  As though the streets would ever wash the red tint out of the (  _always soaked, always stinking)_ asphalt, as though the smell of rotting bodies would ever clear the wet, thick air.   

_It was the same way the world seemed to disconnect the tragedy from its roots._

Madarai found himself grinding hard on his teeth, fingers clenched so tight around the armrest of his chair that they started to ache.  His anger was misdirected, of course.  Everybody in the world obviously lost a great deal.  It was most likely nothing more than  _professionalism_ that kept these people’s voices from wavering when they spoke about it. 

Nevertheless, there was a distinct _edge_ to his voice as he spoke, and it sounded more hostile than he intended. 

_**“Which**_ tragedy.”   

He _knew_ what they were referring to.  He also knew that he had nothing to gain from getting them to say that they weren’t even _thinking_ about the slaughter inside of the school, that it was all but irrelevant in comparison to what happened outside.  On a certain level, he reluctantly agreed - the body count was far higher, the global effect possibly irreversible.   _The tragedy_ and _the incident_ were not one and the same, not anymore.  His own greatest failure was nothing more than a conduit.   

The others in the room looked to one another silently, and Madarai wasn’t sure whether they were putting two and two together or genuinely lost.  Either way, he took a deep breath, exhaling loudly through his nostrils in something resembling a sigh.  

“…The incident that caused the rest.  I was present for it.”    


Isshiki cleared his throat, only partially to draw attention away from the crack in his voice toward the end of that sentence.   

He didn’t foresee it being this… _difficult_ to speak about.  The _rage_ that encircled that memory was all but exhausted.  It was still there, of course, it always would be - but it wasn’t enough to eclipse everything _else_  anymore.   

Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice or mind him taking a moment to gather himself before continuing.   

“I can’t exactly promise any new information.   _Presumably_ you’ve seen the tapes, I guess, so it’s not as though my eyewitness account would be worth much to you.  If anything was unclear, though - I understand that the _image quality_ wasn’t al- _ **ways… -”**_

He took another moment.  Perhaps there was something stuck in his throat?  It felt like it, at least - like a large marble sitting on the very back part of his mouth.  Words moved around it, wavering as they traveled through his now clenched teeth. 

…His voice _definitely_ broke.   _Hard_. 

… 

“…If you were hoping for an answer to the state of the world as it stands, you may be disappointed.  I’m afraid I only _watched_ society fall into chaos.  I never got close enough to understand the _exact_ chain of events that led it there.” 


End file.
